The chemist, his nail polish and a lot of happy ladies

When Polish chemist Wojciech Inglot worked on creating a “breathable” nail polish for consumers who were becoming increasingly health-conscious, he had no idea of the changes he was about to bring about in the Muslim world.

And, if you’re wondering how a nail polish can be halal, the word has a far wider meaning than just food. In Arabic halal means “permissible” or “lawful”, referring to things that Muslims are allowed to do as per Islamic law, the opposite – the banned things – being known as haram.

Despite once reading up on whether or not it was halal to pluck the eyebrows, I’ve never given much thought to the beauty dilemmas of Muslim women. I see the UAE national ladies, of course, in the beauty salons, and I breathe in the wafts of scent that follow them through the malls – they always look so polished, so well groomed and so elegant that I’ve never noticed whether or not they’re wearing nail polish.

But apparently the observant Muslim woman is not allowed to wear traditional nail polish. While the problem is too modern to have been mentioned in the Qur’an, some Islamic scholars have declared nail polish to be haram because it prevents water from touching the nail surface during wudu, the pre-prayer washing ceremony, meaning that wudu is not properly carried out.

Wojciech Inglot had no idea of the reception his product would receive in the Arab world. While one Muslim writer described her feelings on the topic as an “oil tanker-sized source of joy”, many women are still doubtful about the product’s claims.

But, when an Islamic scholar in the States performed his own permeability tests and declared the Inglot “O2M” polish to be halal, Inglot achieved something that multinationals the world over have been striving for: Access to the buying power of the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world – described by Marketing Week as “a growing, influential and extremely loyal group”.

Cosmetics are one of the few areas in which Muslims require specialist products or processes – they must be free from alcohol, fragrance and animal ingredients. Other areas include food, which has to be prepared in the halal way; clothing, which must be modest – note the growing popularity of the burqini; and banking, since paying and receiving interest is haram. We’ve also seen, in recent years, an increase in halal holidays, which aim to take a share of the £7.7 billion that Gulf holidaymakers are said to spend annually on leisure travel.

The Muslim market is both massive and lucrative for companies that pitch their products right. Although Inglot passed away at the end of February, he knew what a huge market he’d entered with the O2M nail polish. I like to think he died with a smile on his face.

Annabel Kantaria is a journalist who moved to Dubai long before most people knew where it was. She doesn’t ride a camel to work; has never seen a gold-plated golf buggy and only rarely has pink champagne for breakfast. Follow her on Twitter: @BellaKay